Winston CHURCHILL and Franco-British diplomacy.

Sir Winston CHURCHILL (1874.1965)

Autograph letter signed to the French minister and deputy Louis Loucheur.

Two pages in-8° in English. (Paris). February 10, 1924.

“I foresee considerable changes on both sides of the Channel in the near future. »

Beautiful letter from Churchill – then without a mandate – inviting Loucheur to an informal dinner (he still indicates the dress code “ short coats black ties ”) but from which we can guess the diplomatic and political discussions as suggested by the future Prime Minister.

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“My dear Loucheur, My wife and I hope to have you and Madame Loucheur here for dinner at 8:30 p.m. It will be quieter here than in the café and we will be able to talk freely. Crewe who was due to come is unfortunately forced to stay at home with his wife who is slowly recovering from a severe bout of flu, and has begged us to apologize. So there will be four . Short jackets and black ties . I look forward to seeing you again; as I foresee considerable changes on both sides of the Channel in the near future. With all my good wishes. Believe me sincerely yours. Winston S. Churchill. »

Original version : “My dear Loucheur, My wife & I hope to receive you & Madame Loucheur here for dinner at 8.30. It will be quieter here than at café & we can talk freely. Crewe who was coming is unhappily forced to stay at home with his wife who is slowly recovering from a sharp attachment of influenza, & has begged us to make his apologies to you. So we shall be at four . Short coats & Black ties . I am much looking forward to seeing you again; for I apprehended considerable changes on both sides of the Channel in the near future. With all good wishes. Believe me yours sincerely. Winston S. Churchill. »

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• The collapse of the Liberal Party and Lloyd George's government removed Winston Churchill from Parliament from 1922 to 1924. Re-elected as a Conservative MP in October 1924, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin's government in November 1924. (1924-1929 ).

• A former polytechnician and engineer, Louis Loucheur (1872-1931) was a deputy and secretary of state then minister in charge of armaments issues, between 1916 and 1918, then minister of industrial reconstitution, until 1920. He was the principal economic advisor to Clemenceau at the Paris conference in January 1919, for the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles, and intervened directly in the discussions with David Lloyd George. He subsequently held several ministerial positions, in parallel with his career as deputy for the North: Minister of Liberated Regions (January 16, 1921 to January 15, 1922), Minister of Commerce, Industry, Posts and Telegraphs in the spring of 1924, Minister of Finance (from November 28, 1925 to March 9, 1926), again Minister of Commerce and Industry (from July 19 to July 23, 1926, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare (from June 1, 1928 to February 1930, and Minister of the National Economy (from December 13, 1930 to January 27, 1931). Very involved in questions of post-war social housing and the resolution of conflicts in the world of work, he was also a fan of art and collector (close to Thadée Natanson, the co-founder of La Revue Blanche) and very committed at the European level in line with Aristide Briand (he is one of the most active promoters of ideas and projects for European economic construction 1920s).

• Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, Lord Crewe (1858-1945), mentioned in this letter, was then ambassador of the British crown to France (1922-1928). He had married with great pomp the young Lady Margaret Primrose in 1899.